1. Field
Example embodiments of the present invention relates to a storage medium storing a sound processing program and a sound processing apparatus. More particularly, example embodiments of the present invention relates to a storage medium storing a sound processing program and a sound processing apparatus, both capable of realizing an electronic musical instrument which simulates a play of a musical instrument by means of an apparatus such as a personal computer, a game apparatus or the like.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, an apparatus, realizing an electric musical instrument which simulates a play of a musical instrument by means of a personal computer, a game apparatus or the like, is well-known. In such an apparatus, a musical performance is provided in accordance with an output from operation means such as a pointing device (e.g., a mouse), a controller and the like, and a sound is outputted by adopting an input method different from that by which a real musical instrument is played.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-282956 (hereinafter, referred to as patent document 1), discloses an apparatus to which information regarding a method of playing a stringed instrument is inputted by means of a fingerboard of the stringed instrument displayed on a display device, for example. Frets and strings of a simulated guitar are displayed on the fingerboard. When information regarding a choking method, which is unique to the guitar, is inputted, a user uses a mouse so as to operate an image of a string to be choked as if he or she played the instrument by using the choking method, thereby inputting the information regarding the choking method. Note that the choking method is a guitar technique in which an interval of a sound is increased by a semitone to one tone and a half. In the choking method, the user moves his or her finger, pressing at least one string, generally on the same fret, up and down without sliding the finger to another fret. Also, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-98297 (hereinafter, referred to as patent document 2) discloses an electric musical instrument to which an operation is inputted by means of a playing operation surface and a playing operation element, thereby generating playing information in accordance with the inputted operation.
However, the apparatus disclosed in patent document 1, only specialized in inputting the information regarding the choking method by means of the mouse, does not simulate a musical play as if the user plucked a string of the guitar by means of the mouse. Thus, the user is not allowed to feel as if he or she enjoyed playing the electric musical instrument. Also, in the apparatus disclosed in patent document 2, a main subject used by the user to play the instrument is a keyboard. Furthermore, the aforementioned apparatus is not aimed at allowing the user to enjoy simulating a play of the electric musical instrument by inputting an operation by means of the playing operation surface and the playing operation element. Furthermore, if the apparatus disclosed in patent document 1 and the apparatus disclosed in patent document 2 were combined with each other, playing information causing an electric musical instrument to play music would only be inputted, and therefore the user would not be allowed to enjoy simulating the play of the electric musical instrument.